Currents

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO THE HONEYBEES?

That’s a question Bob Minckley, adjunct
professor of biology, is hoping to help answer. He is collecting honeybee
samples from New Mexico, looking for clues to the mysterious colony
collapse disorder that has claimed millions of bees. It’s a problem
that poses a growing threat to the American agricultural system. Read more.

By surpassing the $1 million mark, the University
joins a select group of local organizations—Kodak, Xerox,
Wegmans, and Bausch & Lomb—that received the Award of Excellence
during a celebration event on June 22 sponsored by the United Way of
Greater Rochester, which also reached its goal this year of raising more
than $33.5 million.

Top engineering students from Argentina, Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Canada, and from
Rochester and the University of Miami, gathered for five days on campus
in early June for a conference on global enterprises and sustainable
energy.

The phenomenon is known officially as colony collapse
disorder, and scientists across the country are looking for clues to why
millions of honeybees are dying, examining everything from pesticides to
parasites.

Stalking the high grass at the edges of Genesee Valley
Park on June 25, a dozen high school teachers swipe nets at insects as
part of a four-day program set up by Jack Werren, professor of biology, and
doctoral student Michael Clark.